Names You Hate in Stories

I know this is probably an overdone topic but, what are some names you cannot stand for people to use?
If I see a story with character names like, Raine, Raven, or Midnight, I usually just skip over it. It's a big turnoff for me. Or maybe I'm just picky.

Ugh, I hate when people use those names! I'm just like no no no no no. I don't like Aiden or any variant of the name. It's far too common for my taste.

I can't stand the name Emily I just can't. It's usually used in a "dark" character who is oh-so-special and unique, and not to mention cliche as hell.

well I saw an MC named Mega :/

The overly used cliche names for the "popular" girls in cliche stories.
Britney, Rachel, Rebecca, Stephenie. So on and so forth. I tend to skip over stories like that.

I can't stand the common names used for the "dark characters" either. I've noticed that Raven is common. I also don't like when people use Lilith or any variant of that name.

- Any name with an overly unique spelling. There's a fine line between distinctive and obnoxious. There is just no call for the name Skott.
- Most place names as character names

Also: bad last names are a turnoff, too.
Something like, Nikki Moonlight or Raine Von Crimson sounds like a bad scenester name. It's just unrealistic.

@ Captain Mars
They're usually cliche when they have names like that.

@ Agent Operetta
I sometimes alter the spellings in futuristic stories to reflect how I think the names might change over time.

Also, has anyone noticed that names like Ever or some diminutive of Everette seem to be gaining popularity? Especially in paranormal romances.

@Thylacine
Yes! Everette is so popular in paranormal romances. There's a ton of overused names in paranormal romances though. Names like Jayden (Jaden), Destinee (Destiny, however you want to spell it), Kaden, Skyler. They just are so overused, and y'know I don't think I've ever met a Kaden, or styler, or Jayden.

It's weird because I know have a friend called Raine. He did change his name to that (with the fantastic middle name "Attackbot") so it makes it odd really, haha.

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I dislike names spelled bizarrely.

I can't say that there are any names that I hate in themselves, but more of what I can't stand about character names is how disproportionate they seem. It seems like relatively uncommon names and uncommon spellings are more common than those names that are common in certain regions and at certain time periods. I'm not saying that uncommon names are awful, period, because both my best friend and myself have uncommon spellings of names, but I feel like it's way more common in stories than it should be.

For instance, based on people my age and in my region of the US, the names Shelby, Lauren, Mackenzie, and Hannah are very common, but I haven't seen any of those names used that frequently in stories. Also, it seems that a lot of names that are popular in recent times, such as Jaden, Braeden and Caden, are used more frequently as names for teenagers when, as far as I know, those names weren't as popular during the time that the character was born. I can only speak from my own experience, but I personally, though I know a good chunk of people with those names, do not know anyone above the age of seven with the name Jaden or Caden.

So there aren't any names I could point out specifically and say I hate, but I don't like how the names used in stories don't seem to mirror the trends of names in the real world.

I'm usually OK with most names because there aren't many names that I actively dislike, but there are a few things I don't like seeing. For example, if you're giving your character a traditional name, I really dislike it if the name is spelt in a strange way to make it look "cool". Like Elizabeth being spelled Ehlyzibeth or Raine being spelled Rhayne. Or names that aren't actually names, and are just being used to be "edgy", like Ice or Moonlight or Demon or something.

Also, names that are spelled with a foreign spelling, when the character isn't from that nationality. Like my name for example, Alexander, has an original Russian spelling, Aleksandr. But if the character wasn't Russian, it would be unlikely that his name would be spelled that way. It makes no sense. Same for people with names that have no English equal, like an American girl being named Mei Ling or an English boy being named Takeshi. It's just not realistic for me.

I don't know, maybe it's just me but I think writers should be realistic when they choose names for their characters, especially when the characters are teenagers or young adults. Fair enough if it's a nickname, but when naming your characters, you have to remember to adopt the mindset of adult parents, not what your age thinks is "edgy" at the time. Would a parent really called their child Muzik Anarchy?

Vanishing Crows:

Would a parent really called their child Muzik Anarchy?

Well, there's Moon-Unit, Audio Science, Pilot Inspektor, Speck Wildhorse, Petal Blossom Rainbow, so there are people out there who think naming their kid like a punk My Little Pony is an awesome idea. But I'm not sure I could read a (not My Little Pony fanfic) if the character's first name was Wind Whistler. Maybe if it was first person.

Mostly I hate names that are distracting. Crazy spelling, crazy name (like My Little Pony names), or names that don't fit into the setting. oh 1800's historical fiction, and your girl character is named Ashlee?

I hate it when the times have a weird spelling. Especially when they're to the point where you can't even figure out how to say their names. I dislike "Rain/Raine" but am ok with names like that if there's a history behind it--like their parents were hippies or something.

Katlight Sparkle:

Well, there's Moon-Unit, Audio Science, Pilot Inspektor, Speck Wildhorse, Petal Blossom Rainbow, so there are people out there who think naming their kid like a punk My Little Pony is an awesome idea. But I'm not sure I could read a (not My Little Pony fanfic) if the character's first name was Wind Whistler. Maybe if it was first person.

...That's true. Maybe I should rephrase. Would a sane parent call their child Muzik Anarchy?

I hate when there are unrealistic last names. Who knows? Maybe there are people with the last name of Moonlight, Darkness, Stars, Angel, and so on. But I highly doubt there are people with the last name of Anarchy, Apathy, Razorblade, Angelkiss, Lyric, etc.

I love creative last names, but the only times I can think of where names this unique were pulled off are in Star Wars (like Skywalker, Gunray, Quadrinaros, and Thistleborn) and in Cassandra Clare's books (like Lightwood, Blackthorn, Herondale, and Shadowhunter). I really think that it's hard to do last names like that unless you're creating a whole new universe of people where those names are common.

@ MusicalMasochist I dislike seeing unrealistic last names as well. I use "Wolf" as in "Luka Wolf" for my characters modeling "name", but not his real name. It seems as if they are trying to hard to have stories with different names, but it ends horribly. "Razorblade" is a little....over the top? I don't know, but I'd definitely stop reading that story after seeing weird first/last names.

I love different spelling of names, but if I were to read a story with a different spelling of a name (or a name I don't know how to pronunciate), I'd love it if the author put the pronunciation of the name in the story.

@ sainted swan
Yeah, and that's a totally different thing. I love when fake names like that are kind of out there. But on the same note, I actually know a guy named Laurence Wolf, so it's not too far off :p
As for Razorblade, that's one that I've actually seen, so that just goes to show how weird they can get really.

I like names that are normal and appropriate for the character's race/species/whatever.

If you have a species of creatures that are all called 'Ravencatcher' or 'Wolfcrone' or whatever, I have utterly no issue with that.

But humans with names like 'Alyssondratia' or something make me angry xD

i saw sparks:

So there aren't any names I could point out specifically and say I hate, but I don't like how the names used in stories don't seem to mirror the trends of names in the real world.

This so much. I've read stories set in, for example, a high school, and every single character mentioned has a really weird, out-there name. Sure, in an "average" group of people (such as a class) you're likely to get one or two, maybe even four or five, people with slightly unusual names, but the ratio of unusual names to normal names is often completely disproportionate in stories to what it is in real life. I hardly ever see books written about people with names like Ellie, Becky, Rachel, Hannah etc (except sometimes as the cliched "popular" girls) and yet names like those seem to make up most of the people I know.